Aunt Jennifer is a skilled weaver and married woman living in the mid-20th century. Her creative abilities are hindered by the massive weight of her husband's wedding band, which limits her dexterity and acts as a physical marker of her oppressive marriage. Despite her outward timidity and frightened hands, she possesses a vibrant inner life and uses her textile art to express the freedom she lacks in reality.

Uncle is Aunt Jennifer's husband, an implicitly wealthy man who prefers his wife to remain confined to the domestic sphere. Though he does not physically appear in the poem's present action, his presence dominates his wife's life. The thick gold and heavy jewels of the wedding ring act as a constant physical and emotional weight that controls her.

The tigers are bright topaz denizens of a green world created by Aunt Jennifer's needlework. Unlike real wild animals, they exhibit a sleek, knightly certainty and do not fear the men seated beneath a nearby tree. The text treats the animals as distinct characters who embody the fearless and free aspects of their creator's personality.

The unnamed third-person narrator is presumably the niece or nephew of Aunt Jennifer. They watch their aunt work at her loom and reflect on the contrast between the woman's physical oppression and the fierce independence of the animals she creates. The speaker acts as a bridge between the artist and the audience, ensuring Aunt Jennifer's true spirit is recognized through her art.